I recently returned from New York and the 54th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. This year's theme was "Beijing +15: Moving Urgent Issues Forward".
2010 marks the 15th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women which unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and The Beijing Platform for Action that served as an agenda for women's empowerment. The Beijing Platform identified 12 areas of concern:
1. Women and poverty
2. Education and training of women
3. Women and health
4. Violence against women
5. Women in armed conflict
6. Women and the economy
7. Women in power and decision making
8. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
9. Human rights of women
10. Women and the Media
11. Women and the environment
12. The girl child
This year the UNCSW offered the opportunity for a review of the Beijing Platform, to mark where progress has been made and to acknowledge the work that remains to be done.
I arrived in New York on a Thursday night in the middle of a fierce snow storm. The next morning was meant to be the introductory session for the Anglican delegation. Trudging through the slushy city streets to the Episcopal Church Centre I encountered 2 women, Helen from Wales and another woman in full traditional African dress were the first to arrive. Even the office staff were late getting in. I soon discovered that the African woman was french speaking from Burkina Faso. After twenty minutes of conversation and a cup of hot tea I realized that the woman was not an Anglican. We soon figured out where she was supposed to be and directed her to her destination.
The rest of the weekend was spent in advocacy training with Helen Wangusa, the Anglican Observer to the United Nations. It was a great opportunity to get to know one another as we learned how to move from talk into action.
I spent the next two days attending an event hosted by Religions for Peace. The conference was entitled Women of Faith Leadership Summit: Restoring the Dignity of Women and Girls. The keynote speaker was the Rev Dr Marie Fortune, world renowned theologian and author. Dr. Fortune is an expert in the area of violence against women. She quoted from the prophet Jeremiah - Is there no balm in Gilead? She proposed that the balm, the healing of the wounds of violence, comes through justice and compassion.
The Summit provided a wonderful opportunity to meet with a number of leaders from the international inter-faith community. Some of us are hoping to create an international network of female clergy to do work in the area of peacemaking and reconciliation.
Dignity is defined as "the state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect".The restoration of the dignity of women and girls cannot happen without peace. This became abundantly clear during my time at UNCSW. In times of armed conflict and civil unrest, women and girls throughout the world become more vulnerable to abduction, sexual assault, torture, and murder. As their dignity is denied, human dignity as a whole suffers.
Jesus and his disciples are at a dinner party in the home of his friend Lazarus. Martha serves the meal while the men talk. Mary enters and anoints the feet of Jesus with perfume made of pure nard, an expensive perfume. She wipes his feet with her hair. Judas is taken back by Mary's extravagant act of hospitality. He sees it as a waste of money that could have been given to the poor. Jesus comes to Mary's defense. He receives Mary's generous out pouring of love as a prophetic act, foreshadowing his impending death. Jesus reminds them that they will always have the poor with them but they will not always have him.
Try and imagine...try to place yourself at this gathering. The men are enjoying themselves while the women serve. Martha takes care of the practical side of hospitality - she gets the food on the table. But Mary extends hospitality to Jesus in a more intimate, sensual way. While washing a guest's feet was not unusual act of hospitality,Mary's anointing of Jesus with expensive perfume and wiping his feet with her hair was extraordinary. Jesus does not chastise Mary nor does he belittle her. He not only recognizes her dignity he affirms her action. She is a prophet, an oracle.
In my two weeks at UNCSW I had many wonderful opportunities to attend special events and share unusual experiences. From sharing a gin and tonic with the Tanzanian ambassador to the UN, to being on the floor of the General Assembly on International Woman's Day to seeing a one woman play by Sarah Jones introduced by Meryl Streep to listening to a panel discussion on Peace and Reconciliation which included Archbishop Desmond Tutu...I met Leymah Gbowee, the woman who spearheaded the Liberian Women's Peace Movement as depicted in the documentary, Pray The Devil Back To Hell. I have to say that I was most impressed by the efforts of dedicated so-called "ordinary" women working tirelessly to improve the lives of their sisters at home and abroad.
I attended events dealing with a wide range of topics from human trafficking to the role of women in economic recovery. I heard of efforts being made for Security Sector Reform in several African nations, which will allow for more just and compassionate responses in cases of violence against women and girls. I heard of community projects in rural Bangladesh to address the connection between violence against women and the dowry system. I also heard numerous issues discussed relating specifically to the girl child - equal access to eduction, mentoring, anti-trafficking efforts, feminine genital mutilation, child brides, and prenatal sex selection - to name a few.
During the entire UNCSW I was aware that this year the presence of Faith Based Organizations within the NGO community was significant.Perhaps it is a trickle down effect from the global economic crises? Whatever the reason might be there was a new spirit of cooperation and mutual respect - a very positive outcome indeed!
In today's reading from the Hebrew scriptures, the prophet Isaiah recalls God's saving acts of the past with an eye to the future. He warns the people not dwell in the past:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.
Instead they are to prepare for the ongoing action of God's salvation in the here and now:
I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
I have to believe that God's saving grace is a "work in progress", an ongoing process drawing us ever closer to God's reign. My time at the UNCSW has allowed me a window where I could catch a glimpse of what this world is and what it could be.
In this morning's Epistle Paul writes to the Philippians of the transforming power of living a Christ centred life. He speaks of his own personal experience as "a persecutor of the church". He chose to surrender his power to the love of Christ. He admits that he himself is a "work in progress" . He speaks of letting go of his past and looking forward in order to answer God's call.
My brothers and sisters in Christ we all have a role to play in the restoration of the dignity of women and girls. God is calling us all into wholeness, into peace, into justice, and into compassion. Let us respond to God's call by participating in the transformation of ourselves, our communities, and our world.
